Margaret is the sister of my Great Grandfather Robert Easton.

ANDREW JACKSON MOFFITT and MARGARET EASTON (By Max Lee Moffitt Sr.)

My great grandfather, Andrew Jackson Moffitt, was born May 7, 18181n Fermanagh Co., Ireland, to Isabella (or Elizabeth) Thompson and James Moffitt. When Andrew was an infant the family moved to the United States and settled in Iowa where Andrew grew up and was married. He married his first wife, Syrena Evans, in 1843, and they had at least 2 children before she died.

Aandrew started for California in the 1850's during the gold excitement When he reached Salt Lake City, he joined the Mormon Church - then went on to California. He soon returned to Salt Lake City where he served as a coachman for Brigham Young for several years; then he was sent to Manti by Brigham Young and he became a bishop. He served as bishop for fifteen years and was president of the co-op store for several years. He took an active part in the Black Hawk war, and being bishop, kept an open house to all. Because of the Indian raids, he lost a great many livestock.

Andrew Jackson was always prominent in the church and public affairs, and was universally respected. On February 17, 1853, he married my grandmother, Margaret Easton. Margaret Easton was born in September, 1834 or 1835. She was the daughter of Robert Easton and Elizabeth Laird.

Andrew Jackson Moffitt and Margaret Easton were sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on February 17, 1855. Andrew Jackson Moffitt died May 31, 1892. Margaret Easton died January 9,1912.

Margaret Easton was born in Glasgow, Scotland. My Great Grandfather, Andrew Jackson Moffitt and Margaret Easton had 14 children. My Grandfather, Wallace Robert, was child number 10. Andrew Jackson later married Jane Easton, Margaret's sister. I don't have a record of how many children were born to this union. Jane died in 1911.

Margaret and her mother traveled to Salt Lake with the John Easton Company.
John Easton Company (1851)
DEPARTURE 1 July 1851
ARRIVAL 15 September 1851
CAPTAIN John Easton
NUMBER IN COMPANY 50

Organized initially as the 4th Ten in the 2nd Fifty of James W. Cummings's company, They left the company on 12 July to travel independently to Utah. They were dissatisfied with the pace of the company and were concerned that they would have enough provisions for the entire distance. They reached Salt Lake several weeks ahead of the Cummings company. John was the Captain of this company. Other Eastons in that company are as follows:

Easton, Alexander, 34, 17 March 1817 - Unknown
Easton, Elizabeth Laird, 5, 62 February 1795 - About 1860
Easton, George, 22, 4 January 1829 - 1903
Easton, James, 28, 24 July 1823 - Unknown
Easton, Jane, 16, 19 September 1834 - 13 May 1911
Easton, John, 32, 27 May 1819 - Unknown
Easton, John Miller, Infant, 15 December 1850 - September 1905
Easton, Margaret, 16, 20 September 1834 - 9 January 1912
Easton, Margaret Fife, 21, 25 July 1829 - 3 January 1915
Easton, Mary McDougal, 31, 14 July 1819 - Unknown
Easton, Matthew, 20, 12 March 1831 - 1919

Excerpts: Stoddard, David Kerr, Autobiographical sketch.
SOURCE LOCATIONS - Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah

John Easton Company (1851)

We lived here [St. Louis] untill the spring of 1851, and then we organized a company of ten to cross the plains to Salt Lake City. John Easton was appointed captain of the ten. and the names of the members of the company are as follows. John Easton and family, James Easton and family, Robert Easton and family, Alexander Easton and family, Mrs. Easton, their mother, and two unmarried sons, George and Matthew Easton, James Williamson and family, Sandy Kear [Kerr] and family, Sandy [David] Mustgared [Mustard] and daughter, John and Andrew Burt, Joseph Horn, James, Robert and David Bullock, James Berner, John Stoddard, my father, my mother, John Stoddard, my brother and I David Stoddard.

We left St. Louis in April and were six weeks on the road to Winter Quarters. We were compelled to stop here a long time, it seemed, because the rivers had overthrown their banks and it seemed impos[s]ible to take the old road up the Platte River or that of the old Mexican Trail. So we were compelled to send out scouts to locate a route which would be posible to use in safety.

After a delay of several weeks we were organised into a company of with a train of 50 wagons so as to be strong enough to insure our safety. This company was captained by Captain Alfred Cardon. Or known as Captain Cardon's Company. After a week[']s travel we were discouraged as so much time was wasted. Captain John Easton called us all into council and laid before us the condition of affairs, ask[ed] if we were willing to travel alone as a company of ten and leave the others. We all agreed to do this as near as I can remember. About the fifth day of our trek, we saw a great cloud of dust in the east, we judged about one mile away. Captain Easton called a halt, we thought it was a band of Indians and we would surely be destroyed. To our surprise we found it to be a large herd of buffalo which we estimated to be around five thousand. The herd we judged to be one mile long and one fourth of a mile wide. We had all we could do to save our wagons from being turned up side down.

Another day we came in sight of a large Indian camp, we passed by in peace and camped about three miles from them. We had just made fires and were preparing our suppers, when suddenly the camp was surrounded by about two hundred indians. We gave them all the camp could spare in eatables and soon they went away whooping in their Indian fashion. I could tell volumns [volumes] of incidents which happened during this trek but time will not permit. But will say that after a great many days of travel and hardship we reached Salt Lake City on Friday October 5th 1851, with Captain Cardon's Company.

From Our Pioneer Heritage, 20 vols. (1958-77), 13:391]

Captain Cardon's Company. In the spring of 1851 about twelve of the Scotch families, including ours, decided to move on toward Utah. Their outfits were secured in Saint Louis. Each family had two yoke of oxen and two cows. I well remember the names of our oxen and cows. One team of oxen were jet-black named Buck and Luke, the other yoke or team were red named Tom and Dine. The cows names were Pidie, a high strung, spotted red and white cow. The other, Flecky, a brindle cow as gentle as a lamb. One man had two span of horses, the only horses in the company.

After leaving St. Louis we traveled onward until we came to Council Bluffs where we were joined by others and organized into a large company. On our way up to this point, going through timber and over rough and muddy roads my father broke his wagon tongue. While we stopped to make another tongue the company with the exception of Brother Stoddard went on into camp. While we were waiting for father to find a suitable piece for a tongue I sat in the wagon with Robert and Tena my Sister. I was fooling with an old Youger gun. It was loaded and accidently went off. The bullet passed through a feather bed we had, through the hind end of our wagon and just glazed Brother Stoddard's head. He was standing near his own wagon. He at once came to see what was wrong. He found the wagon full of smoke and feathers and David frightened nearly to death. After the wagon tongue was repaired we drove on to camp and joined the company.

Upon arriving at the Missouri River we met immigrants who had come from different parts of the country and we were here organized into a larger company. But in traveling in this large company we were hindered considerably. Some of the men had never driven oxen before, others had only little experience and their troubles would hinder the whole train. Therefore, after a few days of travel with the train, our Company from St. Louis broke with the main company and traveled on ahead of them to Salt Lake. We were called the Independent Scotch Company. The only horses we had in our company were stolen by the Indians a few days after we left the main company. We all threw in to help the family along and we all arrived safely in Salt Lake two weeks ahead of the big company of 1851.